From A Life Long Past

9: Acceding

After the cursory obligatory causerie about themselves, came the Bell Test.

Naruto was amused by the fact that the simple teamwork exercise that Tobirama used ended up becoming passed down as a tradition of sorts. It was a silly thing -- even a team of three genins with perfect cooperation would find it difficult to take down a jōnin. Even if they relied on tricks or strategy, it was nearly impossible for inexperienced genins to defeat their sensei. It was more of a game where, if satisfied with the performance of the Academy graduates, the sensei would let the genins win on purpose.

With a series of guerrilla tactics, Team 7 snatched Kakashi's bell.

In summary, Naruto used shadow clones as a shield to disguise the movements of the other two while Sasuke kited their sensei with techniques comparable to low C- and D-rank jutsu. He also occasionally tossed shuriken and kunai to muddle Kakashi's perception of his location. While the other two were hard at work, Shikamaru lurked in the shadows in wait for his prey. When the jōnin was successfully lured into Shikamaru's expanded shadow which was merged with that of a tree, Shikamaru successfully took control of Kakashi's movements and mimed removing something from his belt and tossing it. The bells were smoothly caught by Naruto and distributed to his teammates.

Naruto then turned to face Kakashi with a foxlike grin.

"Do we pass your test, Kakashi-sensei?" he asked cheerfully.

Kakashi stared at Naruto for a moment, then exaggeratedly brushed himself off as Shikamaru's shadow receded.

"Shikamaru must have seen through my test. You win!" he exclaimed, turning to look at the Nara with an eye-smile.

Or... maybe that was a wink? It was hard to tell when the man in question was a cyclops. How could one know if Kakashi was blinking, smiling or winking with but a single visible eye? The half-mask he used only further complicated an observer's interpretation of his expressions.

Regardless, Team 7 smoothly transitioned into a four-man team -- or at least that was supposed to be the case.

~♡~

"It's a pleasure to meet you girls. My name is Yūhi Kurenai and I will be your jōnin sensei and the leader of this team henceforth," greeted Kurenai. "How about we start with self-introductions?"

The three young kunoichis nodded, but the blonde and pink-haired girls glared at each other as soon as they realised that they happened to agree on this.

Kurenai overlooked their internal conflict and continued, "I'll start first. I specialise in genjutsu. I like shōchu, vodka and takawasa and dislike cakes. My current goal is to fight a certain someone. My hobby is drinking in the evenings. How about you, young miss of the Hyūga clan?"

"Ah! I-I... My name is H-Hyūga Hinata," she stuttered, shyly looking down. "I don't have anything I am very g-good at, but I have the Byakugan and I know some t-t-taijutsu. Eep!"

She covered her face as she realised how incoherent she sounded.

"It's okay, Hinata. Please continue," Kurenai encouraged her.

"Ano... I like zenzai a-and cinnamon r-rolls. I don't like c-crabs or shrimp. My goal is to become a great shinobi like... Naruto-kun," Hinata stammered, flustered. "My hobby is pressing flowers."

Ino perked up, disengaging from her stare-off against Sakura and waving excitedly.

Kurenai, though she did not show it, was relieved that her team seemed to be clicking together somewhat.

"You may speak, heiress of Yamanaka," Kurenai said, beckoning Ino to begin.

"I like flowers too!" Ino giggled. "I particularly adore the cosmos flower. Oh, and I'm Yamanaka Ino. I specialise in the Yamanaka clan techniques -- mind-affecting jutsu. My favourite foods are cherry tomatoes and pudding. I hate sashimi. My hobby is shopping!"